Wheeled golf club carrier provided with combined folding seat and carrying strap



Oct. 28, 1958 H. o. STAMP WHEEL-ED GOLF CLUB CARRIER PROVIDED WITH COMBINED FOLDING SEAT AND CARRYING STRAP 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1954 4) INVENTOR. Hueo O. STAMP ATTCRNEY Oct. 28, 1958 H. o. STAMP WHEELED GOLF CLUB CARRIER PROVIDED WITH COMBINED FOLDING SEAT AND CARRYING STRAP Filed March 26, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. Hueo O. STAMP BY %%W A'r-ronnev Oct. 28, 1958 H. o. STAMP WHEEL-ED GOLF CLUB CARRIER PROVIDED WITH COMBINED FOLDING SEAT AND CARRYING STRAP 3 Sheets-Sheet (5 Filed March 26, 1954 INVENTOR. Hue-o O. STAMP ATTORNEY United States Patent '0 WHEELED GOLF CLUB CARRIER PROVIDED WITH COMBINED FOLDING SEAT AND CARRYING STRAP Hugo 0. Stamp, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application March 26, 1954, Serial No. 418,841

3 Claims. (Cl. 280-36) ter of gravity and narrow wheel base and allowing easy insertion and removal of golf clubs.

Another object is to provide a golf club carrier which incorporates a seat and has a substantially three point contact with the ground to insure stability when standing on the ground and when the seat is in use.

Another object is to provide a golf club carrier which,

when pulled over the ground, locates the center of gravity low and just forward of the wheel axles so that the major weight is supported by the wheels and the user merely provides a guiding force.

Another object of this invention is'to provide a seating arrangement for a golf club carrier which additionally permits the carrier to be carried from the shoulder in the conventional manner when the terrain makes use of the wheels on the carrier undesirable.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a golf club carrier in which the wheels may be folded to a compact position for storage purposes.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparent from, the specification and. claims, as will obvious modifications of the one embodiment shown in the drawings, in which;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the carrier on the ground with the handle in its operative position and the strap positioned to act as a seat;

Fig. 2 is a view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 as seen from the left in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a showing of the carrier in the position it occupies when being pulled over the ground;

Fig. 4 shows the manner in which the handle may be moved to an inoperative position and the strap used for carrying the carrier;

Fig. 5 is a view showing the carrier with the wheels moved to the storage position to permit compact storage in a locker or in the trunk of a car;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the carrier showing the manner in which the wheels are moved from the operative position (solid lines) to the inoperative or storage position (dotted lines);

I Fig. 7 is a detailed cross section showing the spring mount for the wheel strut;

Fig. 8 is a cross section taken as indicated on line 8-8 on Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a view taken as indicated by line 10-10 on Fig. 1;

wheels and the golfer need apply wheel strut 46 passes.

1 ice 2 Fig. 11 is a view taken as indicated by line 11-11 on Fig. 2; Fig. 12 is a view on line 12-12 of Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a section taken as indicated by line 13-13 on Fig. 4;

Fig. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in section and taken as indicated by line 14-14 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 15 is a View, partly in section, taken as indicated by line 15-15 on Fig. 14; and V Figs. 16 and 17 are views similar to Figs. 11 and 12 showing an additional brace at the bottom of the rectangular frame.

The basic member of the carrier is the rectangular tubular frame 10 which stands at an approximate angle of 60 from the ground. A canvas sleeve 12 is fitted snugly over frame 10 and attached to the frame by snaps 13 or other suitable means. The woods are carried on the top or front of this sleeve in pockets 14, 15, 16, and 17, which receive the heads of the clubs: with the club shafts projecting upwardly and fitting within the cooperating individual apertures 18, 19, 20, and 21 in the resilient rubber members 22, 24 riveted oncross bar 26, the ends of which are twisted and welded or otherwise fixed to the tubular frame 10. It will be noted that pockets 14, 15, 16, and 17 are staggered in height to allow the heads to nest and thus decrease the width required for storage of the clubs. The irons are carried in the five pockets 28 on the bottom or rear side of the sleeve. These pockets are elongated and require no additional support for the clubs. The clubs are put inthe elongated pockets 28 head-down. Thus the heads of all the clubs are downwardly positioned in order to throw the weight toward the bottom of the rectangular frame 10. When the carrier is in the pulling position (Fig. 3) the weight of the clubs will be just slightlyforward of the wheel axles so that the majority of the weight is carried by the only a minimum effort to pull and guide the carrier.

A resilient, somewhat U-shaped, handle 30 has its ends bent outwardly, as shown in Fig. 14, to project through cooperating apertures in the tubular frame 10 and provide a pivotal mounting for the handle. The handle is provided with a grip'32. The upper cross portion of frame 10 is provided with a pair of bollards 34, 36 fixed on the frame by pins 38, 40, respectively, to fix the handle 30 in the operative position when the handle is forced over the outermost shoulder of the bollards and snapped into place in the grooves on the sides of the bollards as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. The spring or resiliency of the handle 30 will hold the handle in the operative position when engaged with the bollards. When the carrier is pulled (Fig. 3) the weight actsto eliminate all force on the handle tending; to disengage the handle from the bollards. It is a simple matter to disengage the handle by pressing the sides of the handle away-from each other to disengage the handle from the bollards and allow the handle to move to an inoperative position (Fig. 4). It will be noted that bollards 34, 36 are not evenly spaced across the top of the frame 10. This is done to insure that the handle 30 is placed on the frame in the proper position. If this was not done, the handle could be put on the frame in a reverse position. If reversed with the present construction, the handle will not engage the bollards. It will be noted in Fig. 3, for example, that the lower portion of the handle 30 is bent (see the dotted line portion shown in Fig. 3) to insure the extension of the handle in generally the same plane as the frame 10.

Welded on each side of the frame 10 adjacent the bottom of the frame is a hollow, cylindrical cup 42 which is provided with an apertured nut 441 through which the Spring 48. is compressed within the cup to urge key 50 on the innermost end of the leg strut into the cooperating slot 52 formed in the end of the spring cup. This key and slot arrangement serves to hold the leg struts in a predetermined relationship with respect to the frame but permits each leg strut to be. moved axially against the spring force to withdraw the key from the slot and allow the strut to be rotated 180 before being re-engaged with the slot. Thus wheels 54, 54 carried at the ends of each leg strut may be positioned for use in a lowered and spread position, such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or may be turned to the raised, compact storage position shown in solid lines in Fig. and in dotted lines in Fig. 6. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 illustrate this movement. The apertured nut 44 may be removed to permit removal of the strut for flat shipping. The nuts could, of course, be replaced with bayonet couplers or the like.

A support leg 56 is welded to sleeve 58 positioned on the lower cross portion of the frame to permit the leg to move about the frame portion to which it is attached. The strap 60 is fixed to eyelet 61 at the upper end of leg 56 and is also secured to the upper cross member of the rectangular frame. Strap length is adjustable. When leg 10 is swung out to the position shown in Fig. 1, strap 60 is in position for use as a seat. Leg 56 is intentionally made quite short with respect to the length of the frame so that the natural tendency is to sit towards the short leg 56 which lowers the weight of the golfer using the strapto make it diflicult to place his weight on wheels and to have strap long enough to act as a shoulder carry. A U-shaped brace 62 straddles sleeve 58 to center the sleeve and leg 56 while additionally serving to brace the frame to prevent the user from sitting on strap 60 and throwing his weight on the wheels and the wheel struts. The wheel struts are preferably made of resilient metal (spring steel) to withstand a certain degree of stress to avoid injury to the struts if they should be stressed by the weight of the person sitting on strap 60 being thrown on the wheel or when the carrier is used on uneven ground. A carrier in accordance with this invention has been successfully used without the brace 62 and without injury to the wheels or struts even with the weight being thrown on the wheels by the user. In manufacture, however, it is thought advisable to take precaution against such harsh treatment of the device. If desired, a brace 63 similar to brace 62 can extend on the opposite side of the frame to provide additional stability as in Figs. 16 and 17.

From the above it will be appreciated that Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the use of the present golf club carrier as a seat which permits the golfer to rest when the opportunity is present. The golfer may sit down while awaiting his turn and when his turn arrives the clubs are positioned at a convenient angle to permit ready selection of the desired club. It is to be noted that when the carrier is standing (Figs. 1 and 2) the center of gravity is low since the clubs are carried h ads-down. This feature, coupled with the relatively wide Wheel spacing, makes the carrier very stable and permits standing the carrier on slopes without tipping. After completing his shot handle 32 is pulled forwardly to the position shown in Fig. 3 which readies the carrier for use. It should be noted that it is generally easier to pull this carrier than it is to push. Due to the proper balancing of the weight of the clubs with respect to the wheel axles all but a very small fraction of the weight is carried by the wheels with the center of gravity low and just forward of the wheel axles. Since the wheels are widespread when in their operative position the center of gravity acts well between the wheels and makes the carrier extremely stable, even on rough terrain. The resiliency of the struts absorbs considerable shock and generally results in the present carrier being most usable over all kinds of terrain. There are times, of course, when it is impossible to pull the carrier, as, for example, when going up and down stairs. Under such circumstances it is a simple matter to move strap 60 up to the position shown in Fig. 4 where it functions as a conventional shoulder strap. At such times the handle 30 may be left in its operative position or may be swung down to an inoperative position.

The present carrier may be readily stored with all the clubs in place in a club locker or in the trunk of an automobile. The first step is to collapse the wheels to their storage position. This is done by retracting each wheel strut 46 against the bias of spring 48 to withdraw key 50 from slot 52 which permits the wheel and strut assembly to be rotated 180 to the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 5 and in dotted lines in Fig.6. This raises the wheels close to frame 10 while simultaneously moving the wheels within the lateral confines of frame 10. Leg 56- may now be swung up between pockets 15 .and 16 and handle 30 may be swung down to the position shown in Fig. 6 or may be removed if more convenient. "Removal is accomplished by merely pressing the. sides of handle 30 towards each other to disengage the ends of the handle from the cooperating apertures inframe 10. With the carrier thus compacted it is a simple matter to store the carrier in a locker or in the trunk of a car. It will be appreciated that the clubs may be left in the carrier.

As noted above, the sleeve 12 is fixed on the frame 10 by snaps or the like 13. This allows the sleeve to be removed for cleaning and permits stocking a variety of different colored sleeves (and straps to match) to give a wide selection without requiring a great number of complete carriers in tock. The sleeve arrangement, while carrying two irons? in each of the five long pockets 28,

carries the clubs quietly since the irons hang down and the woods are separated. More pockets can be provided if desired. Separate clips on theframe could be used in place of the sleeve and pocket arrangement. Other mate rials can be used for the sleeve, of course.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

-Iclaim:

1. A golf club carrier comprising an elongated frame member including a lower ground-engaging portion, wheel mounting means on the frame member extending forwardly therefrom at an angle, wheels mounted on said wheel mounting means for rotation about a common axis forward of the general plane of said frame member, said wheels and the ground-engaging portion of the frame being disposed, when in contact with the ground, to position the frame member at a forwardly inclined acute angle, a plurality of golf club retainers on the upper face of said frame for holding woods, a plurality of elongated, flexible sleeve-like receptacles on the lower face of said frame for receiving irons, a leg member pivotally mounted to the lower portion of the frame for swinging movement from a collapsed inoperative position substantially adjacent the frame to an extended operative position outwardly thereof, and a flexible strap connecting the upper end portion of the leg with the upper portion of the frame to provide a seat structure. 7

2. The golf club carrier described in claim 1 wherein the receptacles are mounted on a flexible sleeve fitted over said frame, said flexible sleeve being closed at the lower end thereof and provided with an opening in the upper portion thereof affording access to the storage space thus provided within the sleeve and between the sides of the frame.

3. The golf club carrier described in claim 1 wherein the wheel mounting means includes a pair of resilient strut members connected to .the lower portion of the frame, and extending forwardly therefrom at anangle,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Morse Aug. 30, 1904 Smith May 19, 1908 Moreland Feb. 18, 1936 Duis Feb. 6, 1945 Boughton Aug. 28, 1945 Procter Oct. 14, 1947 Sutphen Mar. 16, 1948 Trimmer May 17, 1949 6 McDonald Sept. 13, 1949 ,Sobers Jan. 23, 1951 Mills Apr. 3, 1951 Burns Mar. 25, 1952 Frey May 27, 1952 Lyons June 10, 1952 Reece Apr. 28, 1953 Murcott Dec. 13, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Mar. 16, 1949 OTHER REFERENCES Popular Mechanics, May 1953, page 79. 

